Josiah Vaughn

“When they gave me the tools to go home and make my own video games, it gave me inspiration.”

JOSIAH VAUGHN’searliest memory of the Science Center is its magical Miniature Railroad & Village®. “I remember, I was five years old and it was something very awesome.”

His tastes eventually graduated to the fascinating land of roboworld™, where Josiah has talked with robots and especially loves competing against them. “I get to play basketball and air hockey against a robot that’s practically unbeatable!”

Now further challenged and inspired by the Science Center’s creative educational programs, Josiah says he’s been able to solve some pretty interesting scientific mysteries. Top on his list: the chemistry of ice cream (which he says is “awesome”), and seeing the human body in a totally new way. “I never knew anything about circuits or how body temperature can power a light bulb.”

He also never knew how to create video games—that is, until he attended the Digital Video SMASH JAM Workshop, a one-day summer workshop. “It was the best thing I’ve ever done. I’d played video games, but I never actually knew how to make them.” And he’s still making them. “When they gave me the tools to go home and make my own video games, it gave me inspiration, and I started making games with friends. They weren’t the best—but they’ll get better.”